This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
About This Recipe
As you all know, I LOVE a good cookie. So with baby girl’s arrival I was super excited to do some testing for some lactation cookies! I decided to make these lactation cookies without brewers yeast so it’s easy for everyone to find all the ingredients at your local grocery store. Though if you wanted to you could definitely still add it in!
And even if you aren’t a mama trying to increase your breast milk supply, these cookies are still delicious and make the best healthy oatmeal cookie for the whole fam! They have all the tastes, textures and sweet bites you love about a traditional oatmeal cookie but packed with much more health! Perfect for kids, adults, new moms, seriously anyone!
And here’s a serious pro tip! Make a batch of these cookies and freeze the dough so you can bake 1-2 cookies fresh any time you want!
For more chocolate chip cookies check out my small batch chocolate chip cookies or healthy chips ahoy cookie recipe! Or for a protein punch, try my chocolate chip protein skillet cookie!
Why You’ll Love These Lactation Cookies without Brewers Yeast
- Packed with nutrients from wholesome ingredients
- No brewers yeast or hard-to-find ingredients required!
- Great for boosting milk supply for moms or just a healthy sweet treat for anyone with a sweet tooth!
- Quick to make and ready in 25 minutes. No dough-chilling time required!
- Super easy and way cheaper than store-bought lactation cookies!
- Oats – I used old fashioned rolled oats. I love the hearty, chewy texture of the rolled oats but you can also use quick oats.
- Flour – I love using white whole wheat flour for the taste and extra fiber but you can also sub with all-purpose or gluten-free flour if needed.
- Ground flaxseed – which have galactagogues that can help increase breastmilk production. This ingredient is added for nutrients and is not necessary for the structure of the cookie so if you needed you could omit.
- Baking essentials – baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and vanilla
- Butter – you can also use coconut oil
- Sweetener – I used regular white sugar and brown sugar for this recipe. You can also swap for coconut sugar or your favorite sweetener if preferred.
- Egg – one large egg plus one egg yolk
- Chocolate chips – I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and that is what I would recommend but you can use milk or dark chocolate chips too if you prefer!
- Swap the flour! You can use oat flour, almond flour, regular all purpose flour or 1:1 gluten-free flour in place of the whole-wheat white flour to make these cookies gluten-free.
- Add nuts! Add chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds for extra healthy fats.
- Extra mix-ins! Sprinkle extra coconut flakes, chocolate chunks, dried cranberries, or anything else that sounds yummy!
- Add brewers yeast! This recipe doesn’t call for brewers yeast but you can add it if you’re making these cookies to help increase breast milk production. I’d recommend adding 3-4 tablespoons.
How To Make
The full printable recipe is below, but let me walk you through the process so you know what to expect when you’re making it!
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flour, flaxseed, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
2. To the bowl of your KitchenAid (or a separate bowl), add the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Mix for 3-4 minutes, until creamy and fluffy.
3. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and beat until combined.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to KitchenAide and beat until just combined (don’t over mix).
5. Then fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Scoop the dough into 1-inch balls out and place on the baking sheet 2-3 inches apart.
7. Flatten cookies to desired thickness before baking (they stay the same shape). Top with more chocolate chips, if desired.
8. Bake for 10 minutes then let cool on pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Store these easy lactation cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. You can also freeze for up to 2 months.
I also highly recommend freezing the dough! Just scoop the dough onto a baking sheet, then place in the freezer for 2 or more hours. Once frozen, transfer to a large ziploc bag and store in the freezer until ready to use.
When ready to eat, just take out however many you want (no need to thaw) and bake at the same temperature for the same time (you may need to add 1-2 extra minutes depending on how you like your cookie).
This is my favorite way to make and store these lactation cookies without brewers yeast! Then I can just take out 1-2 at a time when I want something sweet!
For The Mamas!
If you want to gift these to a mom friend, I highly recommend baking half and freezing the other half of the dough. Then deliver both the cooked cookies and dough so they can enjoy a few fresh but the extras don’t dry out before they get eaten.
And moms-to-be! Go ahead and make a big batch of dough and freeze to make your life easier later! Just scoop the dough into rounds, place on a baking sheet and flash freeze for 2-3 hours, then place them in a ziplock bag.
Then you can take out 1-2 as needed once baby is here to enjoy fresh whenever you want. I even love just popping them in the air fryer at 350F for 5-6 minutes (or until done to your likeness) for a quick snack!
Check out this guide for more awesome postpartum meal prep ideas!
Can I eat these lactation cookies if I’m not breast feeding?
Yes, anyone can enjoy these healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (even if they aren’t a nursing mom). These delicious cookies are seriously just normal cookies made with a few healthier swaps so they’re safe and great for anyone to eat. These are super great to make for your kids if you want to have a little something healthier for them to snack on instead of regular cookies!
Can you make lactation cookies without brewers yeast? Is it necessary?
You can definitely make lactation cookies without brewers yeast! Brewer’s yeast is typically used because it can help boost milk supply but it’s not required and the combination of nutritious ingredients in these cookies like flaxseed, oats, eggs, butter and wheat flour provide lots of great nutrients and calories needed to help maintain and boost supply. However, if you want to add brewer’s yeast to these cookies you can absolutely do so!
What ingredient in lactation cookies make you lactate?
Lactation cookies are made with special ingredients called galactagogues which can help increase breastmilk production. Both flaxseed and whole oats are known galactagogues that can help increase supply but are also great nutritious ingredients that are safe and healthy for anyone to consume.
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure leave a review, tag me on Instagram or TikTok at @LaurenFitFoodie or hashtag #LaurenFitFoodie so I can see your creations!
Lactation Cookies (without Brewers Yeast)
Ingredients
Dry
- 2 cups old fashioned oats (200g)
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour (120g) or all-purpose, GF if needed
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed (26g)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (120g)
Wet
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temp
- 1/2 cup sugar (92g)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (92g)
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes. Scroll for macros and MyFitnessPal code.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flour, ground flaxseed, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
- To the bowl of your Kitchenaid (or in a separate bowl), add the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Beat for 3-4 minutes, until creamy and fluffy. Then add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and beat until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to bowl and beat until combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop the dough into 1-inch balls out and place on the baking sheet 2-3 inches apart. Flatten cookies to desired thickness before baking (they stay roughly the same shape). Top with more chocolate chips if desired.
- Bake for 10 minutes then let cool on pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition is hand-calculated and accurate. No autocalulations! However, note that values can vary based on the brands you use and if you substitute ingredients.
